Talent has little role to play in narcissistic doc 'My Way'

By Martin Tsai

Feb 20, 2015 | 5:27 PM

Rebekah Snyder-Starr in a scene from the documentary "My Way." (Inclusive PR)

The documentary "My Way" follows obscure rocker Rebekah Snyder-Starr and her backup singer-tambourine player Annika Alliksoo as they hit the road from the boondocks of Kittanning, Pa., to the Sunset Strip in 2010. There they will play at the since-shuttered Cat Club, undergo a juice cleanse, exercise with celebrity trainer Greg Joujon-Roche, get hair done at Byron & Tracey in Beverly Hills and film a music video.

At each pit stop along the way, they drop in on bars, serendipitously line up impromptu gigs and hawk their CDs to men on the street. With the naiveté, spontaneity and delusion of overgrown teenagers, they surprisingly don't exhaust their coin or face any semblance of a reality check.

Advertisement

>

"I didn't care anymore about what anybody had to say about women exploiting their looks or exploiting their sex appeal," Snyder-Starr says. "I'll use everything that women have and women can use to bring them to their feet."

Actual talent apparently is unnecessary, as most of their live performances here are dubbed over by studio versions of the same tracks.

With Snyder-Starr producing the film, "My Way" impresses as an exercise in narcissism. She comes across as a spoiled brat oblivious to the feelings of her now-estranged husband, Mike, and her bandmates. An heiress, Snyder-Starr accused her uncle of sexism for firing her from a family business that employs more than 2,000. He may beg to differ, but he's not given an opportunity here.

------------

"My Way."

MPAA rating: None

Running time: 1 hour, 33 minutes.

Playing: Arena Cinema, Hollywood.

Indie Focus Newsletter

Weekly

Movie news, screening invitations and reviews from the world of independent film and beyond.